I GOT THE BOOK!

Yeah not much to say then I got it...The other present was to Denny's Gift Cards and I very uickly took my Shard Book to Denny's mostly so I could read it without super distracting familial chatter.

Will continue to read it for more information. Knowing the name of Nilam's Capital City is Honalu that will be Si'Ni's hometown as in fiction it is typical to place your character in the capital city so the Audience can easily recognize I mean...New York State is more than New York City but frequently I character living in New York will almost always be in NYC often Manhattan at that

I am so happy to hear that you got the book in your hands and even now have began to read it and take a look at all the amazing artwork.... The animal templates are really awesome to study as well, I learn something new every single time I look at them!! You mentioned that the character from your fantasy is named Si' Ni, and am I remembering correctly that she is not actually a bat? The reason I ask is that other animals are not ever allowed to leave the island of Klin Ra and are kept exclusively as slaves.... But we will have more information on that in the WORLD GUIDE.... which we will begin work on very shortly!!! please please Please PLEASE PLEASE let me know what you think of the BASIC COMPENDIUM and let us know if you have any questions we are only a key stroke away and this is what we enjoy doing with people like yourself who make it all some much more pleasing and rewarding!!!

No, I have said multiple times Si'Ni is a Pig, specifically the Breed Danish Landrace which I like because of the length of the Breed' Snout I asked about Bats because I was imaging another prisoner Si'Ni might speak to would be a Bat so I want info on how such an interaction might work

I looked back at some of your text and it seems that you in fact did list that SI'NI is a Danish sow..... sadly because of this it will be extremely unlikely that she is actually from the island of the KLIN, if she were she would need to weave a fictional reason into the story as to why she was allowed to leave the island and there would most certainly be other consequences such as having to take the a few DISADVANTAGES such as HUNTED or DEMON PLAGUED, as the rulers of the island nation are masters at the mystic arts and would immediately send Demons or Elemental servants to bring her back to prevent the outside world from having access to information the secretive nation would rather remain hidden, also having a single slave escape might serve to inspire a revolt of the other slaves kept on the tiny island nation either of which would be most unwelcome to the lifestyles of the ruling inhabitants of the isolated and secretive nation....

No...I planned from the beginning she was from Nilam too...My questions about Bats and Klinrah was because I was playing with the idea that Si'Ni meets another prisonor after being abducted to Earth and the other prisoner would be a Bat from Klinrah

Here was my original sketch I wrote elsewhere in this forum
Character's Name: Si'NiHouse: To be filled in LaterLinage: To be filled in laterNationality: NilamProfession: Cook (Secretly wants to be a Storyteller Though)Social Standing: Low Range? I guessJenu (Zoic): Domestic Pig: Breed Danish LandraceAge: 18 Height: 5'3 Weight: 185 Lbs (This is my actual weight in RL would it be proper weight for a Pig Zoic?)Sex: Female (Same as myself)Tattoos, Brandings Distinguishing Marks: Her Autism and dislike of being touched in certain ways has caused her to furiously resist and form o tattooing or branding, she does have a curious birthmark between her eyes a reddish mark that vaguely resembles a sun.Habitual Mannerisms: When she dreaming an idea for a story (Which is often) She has a habit of talking to herself saying what her characters lines and often waves her arms wildly while 'playing her character' She's gotten better over the years of not doing this when other Janah are around,frequently while cooking at her family's restaurant she mutters ideas quietly to herself as she cooksHouse Dress: Frequently likes to wear in addition to her blue Caste Braids, a Dress of blue and white which bears and eerie similarity to a Western German 'Beer Maiden' Outfit (Not saying it's the same, just very similar) Characteristics (Temporarily leaving these blank until I can make sure what maximum numbers are for Pig Zoics so I don't choose a number over them)Strength VigorAgilityDexterityEssencePerceptionWitWillPresenceAnimal Abilities:Tracking ScentWide Peripheral Gnawing Teeth(That's as many as I could remember from the Pig Zoic)Talents: ToughnessVirtuoso (Storytelling)Status: Caste: Trade Asset: Currently lives with family (Doesn't know many Janah outside of family due to being a shut-in)Drawbacks: Gluttonous (Eats often to soothe emotional woes)Short tempered (Can't stand to be insulted)Vengeful (Often wants revenge after being insulted)Insomnia (Seems to get her best inspiration at night, falls asleep late and often sleep through false dawn missing morning prayers, her family keeps this a secret from everyone else)History: At current time, Si'Ni is still living with her family earning her keep cooking for her family's restaurant her Social Awkwardness Caused by her Autism causes her family to feel she shall never be married (Which to Si'Ni's Mind is a good thing as she seems to be both asexual and doesn't like to be touched (At least in certain specific ways at certain times, she does accept the touch of the masseurs and groomers she knows and trusts, she prefers them to touch her more then her own family)Caste: Trade Caste: Patron Devah Vavi'il (Borrowed Vavi'il from Sherbie Cults, Organisations & Gatherings of Dárdünah as a Goddess of Storytelling would probobly be the Goddess Si'Ni worships)

When dealing with those from other cultures the bats of KLIN RA will normally choose to speak one of the many other tongues which is spoken on the mainland if they wish to communicate with someone because it would be very dishonorable to teach the language of their kind to others whom they generally consider unworthy to learn it and even if one such bat wanted to teach another the tongue of the KLIN he would instantly become the target for those among the nation who see this as a crime against the people, nation, culture and nation of the KIIN as a whole, in much the same way that it was for those early martial arts teachers in america who began teaching martial arts to the westerners despite the wishes of the countries here on our planet which possessed this knowlege. When dealing with all aspects of the KLIN remember the society as a whole lives and breaths the skills of ETIQUETTE, INTRIGUE, BARGAINING, CONVERSATION, CRYPTOGRAPHY, INTERROGATION, and above all an almost fanatic level of SECRECY .... That being said I can say that the KLIN actually have two tongues which are spoken on the island nation HIGH KLIN and LOW KLIN.... HIGH KLIN is impossible for other animals to speak since it requires a bats highly specialized vocal ability to both produce the sounds as well as bats highly specialized ears to hear in the hyper sonic ranges needed to communicate with the strange words and speech patterns used by those of the high ranking KLIN and indeed there is even some of this included in the tongue of the LOW KLIN but it is much less common in LOW KLIN and as such favored slaves or others might be able to learn to use this language although those who are not bats night sound much like the early Africans sounded when they attempted to use the ENGLISH language for the first few hundreds of years in slavery since the same type of mentality would exist towards teaching a slave anything other than what was needed to perform the job they were selected for.... You will find more on this subject in the up and coming pages of the WORLD GUIDE!

Hey there! Allow me to congratulate you on receiving the Basic Compendium as a holiday gift!

Hopefully you'll enjoy reading through the various fictional descriptions of the different elements of our game! As Griffin mentions, the short bits of text in the Dárdünah Glossary describing each of the nations of the world barely do them justice in comparison to what you will eventually see in the World Guide, which we are editing and trying to finish this coming year of 2018!

If you are interested is reading about the island nation of Klinráh specifically, here's the unedited bit straight from the unfinished World Guide!:

Ruler: The Káumüdi (KOW-moo-die), head of the Ruling Council of sir’hibasi and wisest of their sorcerers. It is said the title changes hands after hundreds of years. The actual name of the head of the council is unimportant.

Ruling Class: exclusively bats, and specifically those who are sir’hibasi.

Cultural Paradigm: Elements of Japanese and Chinese culture with the overall visual flavor of Tibetan mysticism and ceremony.

Jánah Type: mainly bats of all kinds with other types of jánah of all varieties existing primarily as servants and slaves.

The distant island continent of Klinráh has been steeped in the deepest mystery since the people of Klin fled to its shores over a thousand cycles ago, before the end of the Wars of Twilight. Driven there by distrust and by betrayal, the bats of Klin hurled themselves into the deepest seclusion on a far eastern archipelago of islands, seen in a vision as their new sanctuary. Here, it is said, they created for themselves a safe haven and a home separate from the politics and petty idiosyncrasies of the rest of Dárdünah. Were it not for the apparently sinister nature of their reclusive lifestyles and tastes, there are many that would consider such separation to be idyllic. However, there are few foreign jánah who can claim to have visited the mysterious shores of the main island of the Klin and returned to the freedom of the outside world. The bats of Klinráh jealously protect their secrets, demanding that any who would attempt to have contact with them first travel to the farthest island away from their mainland, more than a day by skyship from the closest shore of Nilám, there to await summons by their Ruling Council, if they are even deemed worthy of a visit. There are tales of emissaries of other countries being forced to remain on that island, called Dvara the “Gateway”, practically as prisoners within its subterranean grottoes for weeks on end before being summarily dismissed. Other stories still, describe entire groups waiting, only to have merely one of their number, sometimes the most unlikely one, be allowed to take the three-day journey from Dvara to the Klin capital of Punyai. Such visitors often return with tales of great beauty and peace, and yet these accounts seem to be laced with a strange feeling of tenseness and obscurity, as if there were many underlying truths cleverly veiled from their eyes, and an unnerving sensation of having been keenly observed at all times by those from whom their most private thoughts apparently could not be fully hidden.

The capital Punyai is situated upon the lush slopes of the glass volcano Akasha, at the falls and birthplace of the thermally-warmed river Bhalai, and is described by those few who have visited it as a place of shadowy decadence and thinly-veiled intrigue, at once strikingly beautiful and elegant, yet evasive and dangerous as well. Silent but ever-vigilant servants and unquestioning slaves serve their secluded, aloof, and inscrutable masters here in the verdant opulence of private, shaded gardens and crystal-lit mountain chambers and palaces. Punyai, it is said, seems to sleep during the day, ensconced in a disconcertingly hushed stillness broken only by the movement, here and there, of vassals owned by fickle lords who await the coming of night, when the city seems to shake off its torpor, and lights whose sources are cleverly hidden, appear to awaken of their own accord, indirectly bathing the buildings and streets in their lambent glow.

Those rare guests of the Klin, having arrived to seek council with the Káumüdi (current head of their circle of rulers), and even those few merchants allowed to trade with them, never come empty-handed, for in addition to the rare opiates and crystals for which they are willing to pay dearly, the Klin also desire exotic slaves from across the world. Wise indeed is the visitor who ensures their own continued freedom by providing a gift of another’s servitude to appease their host’s questionable desires. The slaves and servants of the Klin are apparently treated as prized possessions, and though they are sometimes traded between “Clans” which have various holdings across the main island and the various smaller islets, once purchased and brought to Punyai, they are never again sold to anyone outside of Klinráh.

The Clans of the Elder Klin, according to the scholar Púrjava, who visited Klinráh over three hundred years ago and wrote of his experiences, are like the Houses and Lines of the rest of the world with the exception that they all seem to treat one another with equal amounts of extreme honor and extreme distrust. Eager to have dealings with one another, however, they trade favors and intrigues like hungry opponents in some grand game whose rules and movements sometimes redefine the very lives of those involved. Like pieces in some elaborate game of gi, their servants, slaves, nobility, and even guests are often played against one another, in ways both subtle and alarming, as reputations and secrets are built, toyed with, and sometimes destroyed. All of this, beneath a constant veneer of delicately calculated social graces and an emotionless mask of cold honor, serving to amuse the powerful and enigmatic Clan Lords.

The bats of Klinráh, it is said, are even more powerful in the arts of the sir’hibasi than were the masters of the Visedháran Loregather in ancient times. Even before the Twilight Wars the elders of the Klin had great power in the arts of ritual magic, and with it they perfected many wondrous techniques of craftsmanship and architecture using mystical mathematics passed down by the devah Krilárah during the Age of Splendor. It was the powerful secrets of the Klin, stolen from them at the beginning of the Wars of Twilight, which allowed the Isvar of Suffering to build his near-impregnable fortress cities, and it was with that same knowledge, augmented by the forbidden magics of their enemy, that the Klin helped destroy the first of those cities, bringing a glimmer of hope to the beleaguered nations of the west so long ago.

In the end, however, they were betrayed by those they had trusted because of their allies’ fear of the very magics the Klin had learned to help free the world from the tyrannical threat of ancient Visedhárah. In a pique of abandonment, anger, and worst of all damaged pride, the elders of the Klin led their people far away from the rest of the world that had shunned them. And on their distant and secluded island the lords and sorcerers of Klinráh continued to perfect their ancient arts of ritual lore for over a thousand long years. Now, they share their formidable knowledge with no-one, though on rare occasion members of their secretive folk can be seen traveling abroad here and there, performing cryptic tasks and errands. As always, they remain unapproachable in the extreme, and rarely allow themselves to be scrutinized for any length of time.

Those that have had such a rare opportunity, speak of their strange leathern wings folded like a cloak to conceal furred forms covered by a patchwork of scars and tattoos laced together in intricate and arcane patterns. Tiny, glittering eyes stare out hollowly from under shadowed brows, while their chill, papery, whispering voices belie a truly terrible, piercing cry that is not easily forgotten. The Klin, it is said, have no trust for any jánah of other nations, sparing little even for their own kind, and so they in turn receive none from any that they may meet, and thus this dark tapestry spreads a shadow of conspiracy and deceit across the breadth of their land and the entirety of their people.

The historical scholar Púrjava wrote his works some 300 years before "current day" Dárdünah, and although his writings are well-received and honored by most academies of the world, they are ancient enough that very little is known about the jánah himself, other than that he hailed from Nilám, studied both the more ancient histories of the Klin predating the Wars of Twilight as well as the eventual seclusion of the bats of Klin on Klinráh, and lastly that he was lucky enough to have actually visited that country and returned to tell his tale. His writings, over time, became more important than any historical details about the scholar himself.

It's important to always remember that, in the world of Dárdünah, thoughts about one's jenu-type usually only come into play as a result of the belief that jánah are merely "clothed" in their bodies based on the ancient will of the Great Mother and Father to essentially "hide" their true natures (as offspring of the Devah) from the eyes of the Great Devourer and his demonic minions... What animal type you are is essentially a "disguise", though there are those jánah that imagine that the Devah favored them by giving them a "better" disguise than others, which is why you sometimes see certain jenu-types in certain countries enjoying the "favored" status of being one type of jánah or the other (such as felines in Sustrüm).

As a result, it may not have seemed important to a scholar like Púrjava to even mention what jenu-type he was in his own writings, and might not even have bothered mentioning the jenu of jánah he was speaking of or writing about, unless that janah's special "animal abilities" were of particular note, or offered them particular status in their country of origin... Likewise, other scholars or historians of his time may have neglected to mention Púrjava in those terms either... As a result, such "small" details have been lost to time...

Worry not, though, for if we ever expand upon Púrjava's exploits or writings further, we may develop him more and actually decide upon a jenu for him tucked away in one reference or another... That might eventually come in our hoped-for "Traveler's Guides" we want to one day create for each individual nation, which will allow for MUCH more depth and fiction...

Looking at the letters in his name I though of the Animal Crossing character Pave the Peacock character whose name comes from the Portuguese name for Peacock but from hos you described his character I wouldn't think I peacock Janah would be so...Modest a Persona

Well,...for the sake of Dárdüni fiction, it's less about "modesty" for scholars such as Púrjava, and more about the handy excuse of "that's just not how Dárdüni scribes do things", because of the shared cultural/religious context of why jánah look like different animals...

And for the sake of Shard Studios' including such information in it's current writings, that "handy excuse" I mentioned in the above paragraph specifically refers to it being handy for us because we just haven't chosen to take the time to define that particular detail yet... And like I said, we may not until some later module or guidebook where that particular detail becomes important to us...

A thought occurred to me while planning the future arc for my character Si'Ni in my Fanfic The Revenants of Dark Earth' when Si'Ni finally encounters the earthling heroes a Cat-Mage Marzipan will cast a translation spell so they can hear what Si'Ni is saying and vice versa the Earthling would supposedly hear Si'ni's 'voice' as similar to whatever Nilam's Cultural Paradigm is...Originally I was imagining Si'Ni would sound like she has a Hindi Accent but now I'm not so sure...Could you tell me what Nilam's Cultural Paradigm is so I can be sure?

Nilam's cultural paradigm is a combination of Persian and Arabic influences with the capital city of Hanalu being very much like Constantinople. However it is one of the most varied places due to its neutral nature and institutions of higher learning...

Yeah In the process of drafting her character arc I realized 'Holey Moley! Si'Ni is like a ruder Autistic version of Belle from Beauty and the Beast!' Minus any interest in finding a romantic partner. Her only friends are the characters she reads about, and to a lesser extent Nava her kindly Mountain Hare Tutor.

Over the course of her adventures on Earth being subject to the Conflicts of the Earthling Heroes,Si'Ni thinks about the stories she read about and asks herself questions like. "Were there imperfections in Heroes like the Talons of Kramah that later writers glossed over? Did the Talons ever bicker like siblings, over who got the last pastry?'